Posted on: July 12, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

Akron/Family are gearing up for a North American tour that features a handful of summer festivals plus headlining club and theater dates. Just back from Japan (JPGs HERE!), Akron/Family will be joined by Wooden Wand for an east coast run and in September by very special guests Jeffery Lewis & The Junkyard and Slaraffenland. The Slaraffenland horns will join the band on stage each night (a la The Dodos or Megafaun before them) to form the Akron/Family big band.

Simultaneously, Akron/FamilyÂ’s US label, Dead Oceans, will be releasing a series of Akron/Family 7″s. Side A will feature a track off their newest, most dynamic offering, Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free, and the flip-side will boast an exclusive, 7″-only track. These releases can be purchased at the bandÂ’s shows first before they will be made available to traditional retail outlets. The first in this series, “Everyone is Guilty,” is all but sold out – there are a few copies left at the bandÂ’s web store at akronfamily.com. The second 7” in the series, “River,” can be purchased during the September run and from traditional outlets in October. Details from the “Many Ghosts” single will be announced soon.

Akron/Family 7 Inchers:

7″ #1 – Everyone is Guilty/Total Destruction
7″ #2 – River/Morning on Michigan Ave
7″ #3 – Many Ghosts/??!

If you need a refresher on the dynamic and communal performances that have made Akron/Family shows the stuff of legend then please take a moment to view this snapshot….

“Sun Will Shine” by Vincent Moon: http://www.vimeo.com/4815247

Brilliantly captured by Vincent Moon, Akron/Family’s breathtaking rendition of “Sun Will Shine” showcases the band at their finest. Interacting with the crowd, joined by guest musicians, and letting the music lead them off the stage and into Union Pool’s courtyard, this performance is the way to close an Akron/Family show. This video was shot during Akron/Family’s New York residency in March 2009, as part of multi-night stands the band did in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Montreal and New York, leading up to the release of Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free.

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“The songs have grooves and set pieces like inlaid jewels — twinkling Malian-sounding guitar in “They Will Appear,” a dub bass line in “Creatures,” Afrobeat in “Everyone Is Guilty” — and elsewhere metal riffs, sprays of folk fingerpicking, sophisticated patches of writing for brass, aggressive swirling noise. But these elements are part of larger coherent canvases, and the band’s musicianship (and that of its 10 invited guests) has caught up with its ideas. . . The segues between styles — especially in “Everyone Is Guilty” and “Gravelly Mountains of the Moon” — are sometimes astonishing.” — Ben Ratliff, The New York Times

“Alternating between pastoral acoustic contemplations and percussion-heavy noise anthems, Akron/Family tries to shake the unshakeable with a heavy dose of musical Icy Hot.” — The FADER

“So take that progression — from folk to haze to psych-rock — and apply the calculus correctly, and you’ll arrive at the joyous, rambunctious vibe of “Set ‘Em Wild.” The record feels at times like a primer in nu-Deadism: the jazzy progressions; the swirling, sprawling tempests of song; and the bridges, packed tight with jittery improvisation. But there are also moments of surprisingly lush beauty: the stacked vocal rounds of “River” or the stripped-down hymn “Sun Will Shine.” — Matthew Shaer, Boston Globe

“Only once you stop trying to figure out what category this album might fit into can you truly discover and appreciate the sound Akron/Family creates.” — Dawn Mauberret, Bust

“They are the children of Coltrane and Guthrie, Pigpen and Holger Czukay, folks labeled experimenters and outsiders who were in fact great uniters. Akron/Family is well on their way to joining the hushed reverence these names and those like them enjoy, and the bald face proof of that resides in Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free, their first but surely not their last masterpiece.” — Jambase
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Tour Dates:

Wed. Jul. 22 Cleveland, OH @ Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Thu. Jul. 23 Detroit Lakes, MN @ 10,000 Lakes Festival
Fri. Jul. 24 Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge w/ Icy Demons
Sat. Jul. 25 Calgary, AB @ Calgary Folk Festival
Sun. Jul. 26 Calgary, AB @ Calgary Folk Festival
Wed. Jul. 29 Steamboat Springs, CO @ Ghostranch Saloon
Thu. Jul. 30 Vail, CO @ The Sandbar
Fri. Jul. 31 Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
Sun. Aug. 2 Liberty Park, NJ @ All Points West Festival
Tue. Aug. 11 Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel w/ Wooden Wand
Wed. Aug. 12 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle w/ Wooden Wand
Thu. Aug. 13 Atlanta, GA @ E.A.R.L. w/ Wooden Wand
Fri. Aug. 14 Birmingham, AL @ BottleTree w/ Wooden Wand
Sat. Aug. 15 Asheville, NC @ Harvest Festival at Grey Eagle Tavern & Music Hall
Fri. Aug. 28 San Francisco @ Outside Lands Festival
Sat. Aug. 29 Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theater w/ Howlin’ Rain, Lucky Dragons
Mon. Sep. 7 Seattle, WA @ Bumbershoot Festival
Tue. Sep. 8 Portland, OR @ Baghdad Theatre
Thu. Sep. 10 Baltimore, MD @ Talking Head Club w/ Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard
Fri. Sep. 11 Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s w/ Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard
Sat. Sep. 12 Monticello, NY @ ATP NY Festival
Mon. Sep. 14 Hudson, NY @ Jason’s Upstairs w/ Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard, Slaraffenland
Tue. Sep. 15 Williamsport, PA @ Site B w/ Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard, Slaraffenland
Wed. Sep. 16 Ithaca, NY @ Castaways w/ Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard, Slaraffenland
Thu. Sep. 17 Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place w/ Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard, Slaraffenland
Fri. Sep. 18 London, ON @ LOLA Fest
Sat. Sep. 19 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick w/ Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard, Slaraffenland
Sun. Sep. 20 Louisville, KY @ 21C Museum Atrium Gallery w/ Jeffrey Lewis & The Junkyard, Slaraffenland

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